Potassium is the third most plentiful mineral in your body. If you're lacking in potassium you can suffer from fatigue, muscle weakness, anemia, severe headaches, high blood pressure, and many other symptoms. But why is potassium essential for diabetics?
It helps keep your vital organs and muscle tissue in peak condition. It aids nerve conduction, helps to keep your heartbeat regular and it also works together with sodium to carry out numerous essential tasks. If you're low in potassium, the risk factor for diabetes greatly increases. It's best to ensure you are getting enough potassium either from your food or from supplements if necessary.
Potassium is vital to keep your brain healthy and prevent strokes. It helps maintain the brain's electrical conductivity and is also directly related to memory and learning functions. A low-level of potassium can also cause epilepsy.
Bananas contain the highest level of potassium. However, other foods you can eat include:
- certain vegetables and grains,
- citrus fruits,
- chicken,
- salmon,
- almonds,
- whole milk,
- fresh juices,
- lima beans,
- nuts, and
- potatoes.
As there are a wide range of potassium containing foods available to choose from, you shouldn't allow yourself to be low on potassium.
Low potassium levels can also lead to low blood sugar and bring on a hypoglycemic attack. This is another reason to ensure you have adequate potassium levels.
Potassium plays a vital role in keeping your muscles healthy. You want your muscles to contract and relax and ideally, not cramp. Enough potassium in your body will prevent this from occurring.
Potassium helps your body to control the balance of fluid between cells and bodily fluids. If you're diabetic, excessive potassium can occur because your kidneys may not be functioning at peak performance.
Diabetes can cause stress and anxiety due to its many and varied symptoms. Potassium helps to reduce stress and anxiety so it will help you better manage your diabetes if your levels are in a healthy range.
It's also possible to have too much potassium in your body and this results in a condition called hyperkalemia. Heart palpitations, muscle weakness and lethargy are just some of the symptoms. Hypokalemia is when you don't have enough potassium. So the prefixes are the same as the Type 2 diabetic blood sugar problems - hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
Having sufficient body potassium is essential for all Type 2 diabetics to help maintain their health. As it's a vital mineral, you should always ensure you have a sufficient intake, whether from the food you eat or from supplements. It is always wise to consult a dietitian if you have any doubts or need help in working out the best potassium foods to eat.
Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. By making simple changes to your daily routine, its possible to protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and limbs from the damage often caused by diabetes, and eliminate many of the complications you may already experience.
For nearly 25 years Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.
The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.
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